


if you stay forever, we can stay forever young

by tesselated



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, Genderswap, University AU, cisgirl!direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 04:17:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tesselated/pseuds/tesselated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So what’re you studying?” Louis asked, watching Zayn sip at her coffee. </p><p>“English.” Zayn said, and Louis nodded.</p><p>“Should’ve figured. You look like you write poetry.” Louis said, and Zayn raised her eyebrows, grinning slightly.</p><p>“Yeah? Is that an insult or a compliment?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Write a poem about me, and then I’ll tell you.” Louis said, smirking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if you stay forever, we can stay forever young

**Author's Note:**

> rmr when i only cared about ziall :(( how did zouis happen to me :((
> 
> i intended to make this bg narry but i didn't write enough ot5 scenes for that to happen. if you squint, tho.

Zayn met Louis a party. It's how she met most of her friends, actually, in her first year at least. That was when she missed Danny and Ant, she missed her annoying little brothers, she missed her mum's cooking and the smell of her dad's cologne. For a girl who had spent months repeating "I can't wait to get out of here," like a mantra as her friends made agreeing noises around her, she was overwhelmingly homesick.

So she started going out more, to the parties her roommate was always begging her to come along to, the loud ones where boys made passes at her and she made passes back.

Zayn could do parties. She knew how to fit in, what to drink, how often to accept a blunt passed to her. It was easy, and made her forget about the old pair of Danny's sweatpants that she had been wearing to bed every night.

Before she met Louis, she met Harry; it was, after all, hard to meet one without the other. She looked young, younger than Zayn, but even so she didn't look out of place in the noisy room, beer bottle clasped in her hand. She was tall and thin with long, lean legs kicking from her seat on the kitchen counter of someone’s house.

"It's loud," Harry half-yelled at her over a cooler, words slurred. They'd never spoken before, but that didn't seem to bother her as she introduced herself.

"'M Harry, I see you everywhere. You're pretty." Harry said matter-of-factly. Zayn would assume she was flirting if it wasn't for the wide smile on her face, evidence of her speaking without a filter.

Zayn grinned, beginning to offer a thank you when a petite girl came walking behind Harry, hips swinging easily and eyes bright.

"Haz, how pissed are you right now?" She said to Harry, slinging an arm around her tattooed shoulders. Harry smiled blissfully as her hand wound into her curls, and offered, "Extremely."

Her voice was soft and relaxed and Zayn felt slightly like she had walked into a domestic scene, like she was seeing more than she was meant to. She later learned that Harry and Louis always produced this effect.

The girl seemed to notice her existence then, turning to her suddenly. She looked her up and down, a slow smirk on her face. Zayn shifted awkwardly under her gaze, feeling her usual confidence slip.

She turned to whisper something in Harry's ear, apparently a question, because Harry shook her head in response.

She looked...well, mischievous was really the only word, Zayn thought, as vocabulary spun through her tipsy brain.

"You're far too hot to be drinking this shit," She said, handing Zayn another bottle from the nearby cooler. Zayn quirked an eyebrow, a small smirk working onto her face.

"That's such a line," she replied, taking a sip of the aforementioned shit.

"I'm Louis, by the way." She said, shaking brown fringe out of her eyes.

"Like the kings?" Zayn asked, and Louis let out a surprised laugh.

"That's queen, to you." Louis said, and Zayn grinned.

Another girl was walking up to them, and Zayn wondered if she had accidentally walked into some strange magnetic field.

She was taller than Louis, had a concerned look on her face and a sleepy-looking blonde girl on her back, and she was walking determinedly toward Louis.

"Lou." The girl said flatly, and Louis turned to her, the cocky grin on her face disappearing for a moment, exchanged with a curious expression.

"Shit, Ni." Louis said, cackling as she caught sight of the blonde girl, who looked pouty.

"Liam won't let me drink more," she whined in a slurred Irish accent, and Louis laughed again.

"You going home?" Louis asked the tall girl (Liam, Zayn assumed).

"Yeah." Liam said, and then she and Louis seemed to have a full conversation without saying a word to each other, just exchanging a few looks.

"Alright, have fun." Liam said to her a moment later, extending her hand as if to fist bump Louis, but Louis just wrapped her hand around Liam's fist. It seemed to be the intended reaction, because they smiled at each other as Liam walked away.

Harry trailed after them idly, reaching a hand out to touch the blonde's hair. Watching them go, Zayn thought Liam looked reminiscent of a mother with two children, except that the two girls were barely smaller than her.

"You never told me your name." Louis said, turning her attention back to Zayn.

"Zayn." She said simply, and Louis smiled.

"That fits you."

"Yeah?" Zayn asked, leaning back against the counter and taking in the way Louis' eyes lingered on her strip of exposed midriff.

"Yeah," Louis said, not offering anything further.

"You gonna tell me why?" Zayn asked, taking a long gulp of beer.

"You gonna come home with me?" Louis asked, moving closer, so Zayn could feel the heat of her.

Zayn smirked again. "Yeah."

++

"Fuck, you're hot," Louis said to her, fumbling with the clasp of Zayn's bra behind her back. They were pressed against the wall of Louis' bedroom, breathing heavy into each others' skin between kisses. Zayn giggled, leaning back in to bite at Louis' neck.

Louis made a small celebratory noise when she got it off, throwing it to the other side of the room. Her hands reached back around to palm at Zayn's chest, and Zayn paused in her pursuit of marking Louis' neck to gasp slightly.

Louis was all curves, Zayn noted, running her hands down to Louis' waist, pulling up her t-shirt. They parted momentarily as Zayn pulled it over her head, undoing the front clasp of Louis' bright pink bra.

"Shit," Zayn muttered, staring down at Louis' chest before she could catch herself. It made Louis laugh before pulling them back together, their bare stomachs pressed against each other.

Louis' hand was inching toward the waistband of Zayn's jeans, and Zayn reached out to undo the zip of Louis' shorts, pushing them down her legs roughly.

"Oh," Louis said, looking down at her bright blue superman underwear. "If I told you it was laundry day, would you believe me?"

Zayn just smirked, pulling away to shed her jeans. Louis walked over to the bed, lying down on her back with her arms behind her head.

She truly did have fantastic tits, Zayn thought, looking her up and down as she struggled to shake off her skinny jeans.

Louis watched her wrestle them off, looking smug as she made herself comfortable on the bed.

"Go on then," Louis said as Zayn walked up to the bed. "Ravish me." She finished, a laugh in her voice, wiggling her eyebrows.

“That’s a bit presumptuous, isn’t it?” Zayn said, but she crawled on top of Louis, looking down at her face.

“Is it, love?” Louis said softly, the trace of a smirk still visible. Her pupils were blown wide but her eyes still looked bright. Zayn just grinned before sinking down to kiss down Louis’ stomach.

++

"You never told me, about my name." Zayn said, feeling spent as Louis kissed the inside of her thighs.

Zayn's muscles were loose, her head still fuzzy from the orgasm Louis gave her that made her shake.

"Hmm?" Louis muttered, moving back up her body to rest her head on Zayn's chest.

"My name. You said it fit me." Zayn said. Her voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar, and it made Louis smirk.

"S'beautiful. You're beautiful. Fits." Louis said, sleepily stringing words together.

Zayn grinned, pulling Louis up so she could kiss her.

"Is that all, then? I put a lot of work in there, you know, I expect some favorable reviews." Louis said, faux-pouting, and Zayn reached out to brush her hair back, a grin on her face.

"You don't seem like the kind of girl who needs her ego stoked, really." Zayn said, and Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Well no, I don't _need_ it. But it's always appreciated." She said, the pout being replaced by a small smile.

"Five stars. Ten out of ten, would fuck again." Zayn said, and Louis laughed.

"Might have to take you up on that, love." Louis said, before curling around Zayn and nuzzling into her neck, minutes from sleep.

++

She woke up to an empty bed and the smell of something frying. She rubbed at her eyes, groaning when remnants of the black eyeliner she was wearing the night before came off on her hands.

She padded out of bed, glancing around the room as she tried to locate her discarded clothes, but it was proving unsuccessful. The room was a mess, clothes strewn everywhere, and she gave up trying to identify which ones were hers. She did find her panties, though, thrown neatly next to the bed the night before.

She pulled them on, grabbing a v-neck from Louis’ closet and hoping she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. It hung loose on her in the places that Louis had curves but she didn’t, and felt well-worn and soft. She made finger guns at her disheveled reflection in the mirror before opening Louis’ bedroom door, and finding herself in a crowded living space.

The tall brunette she remembered walking up to them the night before, Liam, she thought, was standing in front of a stove, a spatula in her hand as something sizzled.

“Hi,” Harry said from a nearby couch, her curls spilling messily from a bun on the top of her head.

“Uh. Hi.” Zayn said, semi-awkwardly. She didn’t know Louis had roommates, she certainly hadn’t noticed last night, and she was standing in front of them in her knickers.

“Lou went to work, but she told me to give you her number.” Harry said, holding out a slip of paper. She was only wearing an oversized Justin Bieber t-shirt and a pair of underwear, and at least Zayn didn’t feel underdressed.

“Thanks,” Zayn said, still feeling overwhelmed. The blonde (something with an N?) stumbled out of the door across the hall, looking confused and sleepy.

“Who’re you?” She asked, her accent thick with sleep.

“I...Louis.” Zayn said lamely, pointing to Louis’ bedroom door behind her. It was too early for this, she thought, to introduce herself to scantily clad strangers in a house that wasn’t hers.

The girl looked her up and down, and laughed loudly when she understood, her head tipping back. It was almost a cackle, but it didn’t sound cruel, just warm and happy.

“Fair enough, mate.” She said, clapping Zayn on the back with a grin on her face before walking into the kitchen.

“I’m Niall, by the way.” She said, leaning against the counter next to Liam, who turned around to introduce herself in turn.

“Liam. D’you want breakfast?” Liam asked, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, and Zayn felt the urge to laugh at how ridiculous this situation was.

“Nah, it’s okay, I’ve got...things...” Zayn said, trailing off when she saw Liam’s expression fall. “But they can probably wait, uh. Sure.”

“Cool.” Niall said, grabbing a piece of bacon from the pan and taking a bite.

“So you guys all live here?” Zayn asked, feeling slightly more comfortable, even though she was still aware of how half-naked she was, standing in a stranger’s kitchen.

“Yeah. Bit crowded, but it works.” Harry said from the couch.

She sat down at the small kitchen table, pulling the t-shirt down as far as it would go. It was surprisingly easy to make conversation as Liam scrambled eggs, Niall laughing loudly every few minutes. Harry sat down next to her, and Zayn could see tattoos poking out of the collar of her shirt.

“How old are you, anyway?” Zayn asked, and Niall laughed.

“Eighteen,” Harry said, a pout in her voice, and Niall came up behind her to pinch her cheek.

“It’s your eyes, love, make you look sweet and innocent.” Niall said, tugging on a stray curl. Harry rolled her eyes.

“Are you gonna text Louis?” Harry asked, a grin on her face and an eyebrow raised. Zayn considered.

“Probably,” she answered honestly, because Louis was hot and a great lay and had a smile that stuck in your mind.

“Cool. I like you.” Niall said through a large bite of scrambled eggs. She didn’t know Niall, but she could tell this was just who she was. No bullshit. She liked it, she thought.

“Me too, actually.” Liam said, grinning across the table.

She felt a bit like she was joining a cult as the three girls stared at her with smiles on their faces, but she didn’t quite mind.

++

She left an hour later, her clothes procured from Louis’ floor after a somewhat difficult search.

“I don’t give a shit about you and Louis, we’re friends now.” Niall said to her as she opened the door of their tiny house, and Zayn laughed. Harry was waving at her from where she was sitting on top of the counter, and Liam paused in washing dishes.

“See you,” Liam said, smiling sweetly, and Zayn waved goodbye, a grin still on her face as she walked out the door.

She texted Louis on her walk back to her dorm.

_It’s Zayn. I think your roommates just adopted me ??_

Her phone chimed a moment later.

_That’s probably good, they have good judgement sort of. Hmm does you texting me mean you want to see me again ? :)_

She grinned, typing back as she walked.

_Idk maybe. Who knows. :)_

_Work is boring. Come visit._

So she did. She walked to the little coffeeshop that was honestly out of her way because...well, she didn’t really know why, except that she couldn’t get the bright blue of Louis’ eyes out of her mind, couldn’t shake the way she bit her lip and smiled.

She walked into Louis’ coffeeshop, near-empty save a serious-looking man on a laptop in the back corner.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Louis said, winking, and Zayn grinned.

“You’re cheesy.” Zayn said, shifting her weight as she stood in front of the counter. Louis just winked again, settling her chin down onto her hands.

“Oh, very. It’s charming, though, right?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“You don’t have to, babe.” Louis said, raising an eyebrow, and Zayn bit down on her lower lip to keep her smile from blooming.

“Are you gonna order something?” Louis asked her a moment later.

“Are you gonna sit with me?” Zayn replied quickly.

Louis grinned at the parallelism of it before answering, “Yeah.”  

++

“So what’re you studying?” Louis asked, watching Zayn sip at her coffee.

“English.” Zayn said, and Louis nodded.

“Should’ve figured. You look like you write poetry.” Louis said, and Zayn raised her eyebrows, grinning slightly.

“Yeah? Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“I don’t know. Write a poem about me, and then I’ll tell you.” Louis said, smirking.

++

Zayn did end up writing a poem about Louis, a few months later. Louis didn’t say anything at first after Zayn read it to her, just sat there looking up at Zayn with her wide blue eyes. There was this flush on her cheeks and she was fighting off a wide smile.

“Well?” Zayn had said after a minute of silence, and Louis just shook her head, reaching out to kiss her softly.

“You’re...I love you,” Louis whispered between kisses, and Zayn felt herself blush.

“Love you too,” Zayn said, grinning into Louis and setting aside her notebook.

++

She ended up spending more time in Louis’ already too-cramped house than in her own dorm, with most of her belongings migrating into Louis’ messy room, into the cozy living room, and occasionally into the kitchen cabinets.

Once, she and Louis put pink hair dye in Niall’s shampoo in retaliation for some long-forgotten offense, but Niall ended up keeping it, saying she liked the way it looked with her eyes.

Once, Louis, Liam, and Niall serenaded hungover Zayn and Harry awake too early in the morning, jumping on Harry’s mattress and pulling at the covers until Zayn was threatening to break Niall’s guitar.

They collapsed on each other on the couch and marathoned Louis’ One Tree Hill DVDs, they spent too much time taking about nothing, they stole each others' clothes, and in between, they became a family, somehow.  

Every memory Zayn had of the house felt warm and comfortable but none more than the memories of Louis against her sheets, the way her pillows smelled like her, and then smelled like them.

++

If the five of them were a family, Liam and Louis were the parents. Liam was obvious, of course; from the moment Zayn met her, she could see the concern laced in her features, the fondness in her eyes for all of them.

Louis was a surprise. “Responsible” wasn’t exactly the first word that came to mind when she thought of Louis, a skateboard in her hand, a smirk on her face. She was all grins and jokes and sarcastic comments when you met her, her charisma undeniable.

That was the Louis everyone got to see, the bright, loud girl who lived to impress.

Less people got to see Louis when she went soft, rarely-used glasses perched on her nose as she read a book. The Louis that would listen to you talk about anything, who knew what to say no matter what, who made you feel important.

The secret to her, Zayn learned, was that behind the bravado and the smirk, there was a girl who was willing to carry the whole world on her back. And Zayn was happy to try and take some of the load off.

++

Louis squeezed her hand on the train, seeing the nerves on her face.

“Relax, I’m infectious. People can’t help but love me,” She said, flipping her hair exaggeratedly, and Zayn just rolled her eyes.

“You’re a nuisance.” Zayn said, and Louis laughed.

“I’m not denying that.”

She hadn’t seen her friends, her family, in months. She couldn’t even remember the last time she talked to her oldest brother, their schedules always at odds with each other.

She also couldn’t remember the last time she brought a girl home, in any capacity, let alone to meet her family.

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and tried to relax, resting her head against Louis’ shoulder.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep,” Louis warned, and Zayn whined.

“We’ve got like, two more hours.”

“Don’t you dare leave me to sit here bored while you sleep on me.” Louis said, her voice stern, but Zayn could see the smile on her face.

“Sleep with me, then.” Zayn said.

“Been there, love.” Louis winked, and Zayn rolled her eyes. She nuzzled in further to Louis’ neck, pressing her lips softly against her collarbone.

“I swear to god, if you fall asleep on this train, I will put your finger in warm water.” Louis said, and Zayn laughed, huffing hot breath against Louis’ neck.

“Love you.” Zayn said softly, before curling into Louis’ side and closing her eyes.

Louis felt Zayn’s eyelashes flutter closed against her skin and sighed, but Zayn could hear the fondness in it.

She woke up an hour and a half later to the sound of one side of a conversation, and realized Louis was on the phone.

“Shit, Haz, I don’t know how to be a girlfriend, you know? I’ve never...people don’t bring me home,” Louis said, an edge in her voice, and Zayn frowned, keeping her eyes closed. Harry said something, inaudible to Zayn, and Louis sighed.

“Yeah, I know. I know, I know, I’ll be fine. ‘S just nervewracking, is all. God, what if her mum doesn’t like me? What if her brothers don’t like me?” Louis said in a whining tone, and Zayn had to fight to keep from grinning.

“She’s asleep, the boring shit. Yeah, I’ll tell her. Love you too, Haz. Bye.”

“‘M not boring,” Zayn said, her voice heavy with sleep. She leaned into Louis’ neck and kissed her softly, making Louis shiver slightly.

“Really? Because I’ve been sitting here wondering if it’s too immature to draw a moustache on your face for a good hour.” Louis said, putting her arm around Zayn’s waist to pull her closer.

“It’s more mature than drawing a penis,” Zayn responded, reaching out to find Louis’ hand, to twine their fingers together.

“Well, obviously, Zayn. I wasn’t going to let my first impression be hello, yes, I’m the girl who drew a penis on your daughter’s face, it’s lovely to meet you.” Louis was joking, but Zayn could hear the nerves in her voice, and squeezed her hand.

“Lou, you’re gonna be fine. You’re infectious, remember?” Zayn said, opening her eyes.

Louis just nodded, biting her lip, and they let the last half-hour pass in relative quiet.

Zayn didn’t feel emotional about it all day, about being home again, until she saw Danny and Ant standing at the platform. The sudden urge to cry surprised her, but she shook it off, instead running toward them at full speed and somehow managing to jump on top of both of them.

“Missed you,” Danny said, and Ant was mussing her hair, pulling her ponytail.

“Dick,” Zayn said, punching his arm before hugging him tightly.

“Are you her, then? The girl?” Danny asked Louis, who was trailing behind her awkwardly, holding their suitcases.

“I suppose so.” Louis said, grinning. “I’m Louis.”

“Trust me, we know, she won’t shut up about you.” Ant said, and Zayn laughed, reaching out to punch him again.

“So that would make you the lads.” Louis said, and Danny winked.

“The one and only. Well, two and only, I guess.”

They spent the drive to Zayn’s house joking too loudly in the cramped car, Zayn feeling a weight lifted off her every time she laughed. She had three of her favorite people close enough to touch and she felt good in a way she had forgotten about.

++

The first thing Waliyha said to her when they were alone, Louis putting their bags away, was "She is so _hot_ , oh my god."

Zayn rolled her eyes, glaring down at him.

"Think I'm too young for her?"

"You're _fourteen_." Zayn said, trying not to grin.

"Yeah, can you give her my number?" He said, waggling his eyebrows, and Zayn punched him on the arm.

"Missed you, you hormonal prick." Zayn said, and he gave her a soft smile.

"Missed you too."

++

Zayn's parents loved Louis, because of course they did. She was charming and funny and _Louis_ , and there was never any doubt that they'd fall slightly in love with her.

After dinner, she volunteered to help Zayn wash dishes, and she thought her mum was going to faint.

But after her mum left the kitchen, Louis slumped forward against the counter, exhaling heavily and rubbing her face with her hands.

"Christ," she moaned and Zayn had to laugh.

"Not funny," Louis said, her voice muffled against her hands.

"It's actually hilarious." Zayn said, sidling up next to Louis and bumping their hips together.

Louis moved her hands to stick her tongue out at her, blowing a raspberry.

"I've just never seen you nervous like this before," Zayn said, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, well. S'important." Louis said, blushing.

"You're cute." Zayn said, and Louis rolled her eyes.

"Shut up." She said, but when Zayn gave her a sidelong glance, she was smiling.

++

"Zee?" Louis said in a quiet voice, her arms wrapped around Zayn's middle, pressed together in her tiny bed.

"Mm?" Zayn said in a sleepy voice.

"What's _jaan_ mean?" Louis asked, and Zayn shifted so she was facing her, a questioning look on her face.

"Your dad said it earlier, and it sounded familiar. I think you say it when you're drunk sometimes." Louis said, and Zayn's face flushed red.

"Oh. Um. It's like, a term of endearment, sort of. Bit more than that, uh. It really means 'life' like, that person is your everything." Zayn said quietly, sounding embarrassed.

Louis had a funny look on her face, but Zayn could see her smile in the dark.

"It's kind of - sorry -" Zayn muttered, her face still hot, but Louis cut her off.

"Shut up. Love you." Louis said, nuzzling into her, and Zayn could feel her too-wide smile pressed into her neck.

"You too." Zayn said softly, settling into sleep.

++

She spent the week introducing Louis to her friends and to her mum's cooking, and it all felt too good. It was so easy, like Louis just slipped into some place that was set aside for her.

They played FIFA with her brothers and skateboarded at the old park Zayn went to in secondary school, even though it was too cold and Louis kept whining.

It felt weird, smoking pot in her childhood bedroom with her university girlfriend, but the good kind of weird. She was reminded of goofy teenage snog sessions as they tried to keep quiet in her room, Louis kissing across her tattooed collarbones.

"I'm glad I'm here." Louis said, her voice breathy as she passed the joint to Zayn.

"Me too," Zayn said before pushing her down onto the mattress, trailing her hands down Louis' sides.

++

They left before New Years, and her mum looked teary as she saw them off, giving them both tight hugs.

"Lovely meeting you," Louis said, and her mum smiled wide.

"Lovely having you." She said, giving Zayn a look over Louis' shoulder.

Louis left them alone as she dragged their suitcases behind her onto the train ("Why am I the one always doing the heavy lifting?" "Lou, you can't ask everyone if they want tickets to the gun show every morning and then not expect us to make you carry things.").

"I like her," Her mum said earnestly, reaching out to brush the blonde in Zayn's fringe back.

"Me too." Zayn said, smiling. Her mum wrapped her in another hug, and Zayn felt full.

++

"Jesus christ, how many boxes of clothes do you have?" Niall huffs, walking past with a large cardboard box in her arms.

"Enough." Zayn says, grinning at the glare on Niall's face.

"I love when you're angry. It's like looking at a murderous bunny rabbit." Louis says, and Zayn can practically see smoke come from Niall's ears.

"Don't even talk to me, Tomlinson. This is all your fault."

"How d'you figure?" Louis asks, readjusting the box in her arms as they walk up the stairs to the front door.

"If you hadn't wanted to get laid a year ago, I could be sleeping right now. In my own bed, in my own house." Niall grumbles, but there's a grin on her face.

"This _is_ your house now, you twat." Zayn says, knocking Niall's hip with her own and almost sending her tumbling down the steps.

Niall drops the box on the floor of the empty-looking living room, giving a disgruntled sigh.

After Louis asked her to move in, they realized the house wasn’t big enough for five people; if they were being honest, it was never even big enough for four. So Zayn did some research. She looked at ads, emailed a few people, put on a low-cut dress, got the rent lowered by a couple hundred pounds, and here they were.

Harry had moved in first, a week before, but she was refusing to help Zayn and Louis, instead sitting at the table without a shirt on, eating a bowl of cereal and watching them like it was a spectator sport.

Zayn moves the cardboard box full of her winter clothes into the bedroom already deemed Louis and her's, since it was the biggest. It's sterile-clean and empty and Zayn grabs the picture that Louis' brothers made for her out of a nearby open box, pulling a forgotten thumbtack out of the wall to hang it.

Zayn knows the room will be a disaster within a couple of days, but for now the picture is enough to make it feel less barren.  Its clumsily drawn, a work by the twins, and shows Louis, her mouth open wide, and Zayn, smiling and covered in tattoos.

Louis walks up behind her and puts her hands on Zayn’s hips, looking up at the picture.

“This is kind of emotional.” Louis says, and Zayn laughs.

“Kind of, yeah. I’ve never moved in with someone before.” Zayn says, and she can feel Louis shrug behind her.

“I’ve never asked someone before.”

They stand in silence for a minute, the soft beat of a pop song audible from Niall’s iPod speakers.

“D’you want to go throw water balloons at Niall?” Louis asks her, and Zayn grins.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

 


End file.
